धृतराष्ट्र उवाच
आचार्यपुत्रो मानार्हो बलवांश् चापि संजय ॥
प्रीतिर् धनंजये चास्य प्रियश् चापि स वासवेः ॥
न भूतपूर्वं बीभत्सोर् वाक्यं परुषम् ईदृशम् ॥
अथ कस्मात् स कौन्तेयः सखायं रूक्षम् अब्रवीत् ॥
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca
ācāryaputro mānārho balavāṃś cāpi saṃjaya ||
prītir dhanaṃjaye cāsya priyaś cāpi sa vāsaveḥ ||
na bhūtapūrvaṃ bībhatsor vākyaṃ paruṣam īdṛśam ||
atha kasmāt sa kaunteyaḥ sakhāyaṃ rūkṣam abravīt ||
[Dhritarashtra said:] "The son of the Acharya is worthy of honor and mighty too, O Sanjaya; and his love for Dhananjaya [is real], and he is dear to the son of Vasava [Arjuna]. Never before has Bibhatsu spoken such harsh words; so why has that Kaunteya spoken so roughly to his friend?"
423de3b4dcb8 · published Jul 19, 2026, 5:12:46 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Dhritarashtra wonders: Arjuna and Ashvatthaman are bound by mutual affection -- whence, then, this harshness? It is telling that even the blind king senses the unnaturalness of discord between friends. The verse teaches that enmity between those who once loved is especially bitter and conspicuous; and the very question "why?" shows that the harshness here comes not from the heart but from circumstances that have broken a friendship.